Bird River Bible Blog

It’s been awhile since I last updated the news on this blog! I hope you are all having a good spring so far. We are in the midst of the thaw. Parts of the camp grounds are still covered in snow but a good majority of the ground is mucky as the ice and snow have been melting for the last couple weeks. It has been a busy spring as we have been in recruitment mode for the last few months. Camper applications have been steadily coming in to the office as have staff applications. With the weather being a little warmer, Dan and Chuck have been able to do even more work around the camp. The downstairs of Caribou Hall is still being worked on, but it definitely looks way better than it did a couple months ago when a church group volunteered to take out the walls to the hallway and the small storage rooms! One of the cabins on the hill was newly painted over spring break when a few staff from last summer came to volunteer. March was a busy month with guest groups at the camp most weekends. Now in April and in May, Chuck has a busy schedule, talking at some of the churches that support us. I’m not totally sure of his schedule, but I do know that on Sunday April 15th, he’ll be preaching at New Life Baptist Church in Stonewall at both services. And on Sunday April 29th, he’ll be sharing about camp at Ness Avenue Baptist in Winnipeg. Also on April 29th, I’ll be at Grant Memorial Baptist Church for their First Serve Fair. Make sure you try and come by the Bird River booth in the meeting hall if you attend Grant. Near the end of March, the camp had a fundraising banquet at Grant and we were able to raise some more funds that will go towards the completion of the kitchen extension. It was a good evening, with good food and great entertainment provided by a one-man play on the life of baseball legend and evangelist Billy Sunday. It’s hard to believe it’s mid-April already and camp will be starting in about 12 weeks! Are you as excited about camp as I am?!?

I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. I really like this time of year because of all the promise that it brings with it. Yes, there’s a big melty mess of snow and mud happening out there, but entire lawns of grass are now showing, and I know that it won’t be very long until there will be tulips (my favorite flower), daffodils and crocuses blooming. The winter was cold, but promises of warm weather are out there. I was reading a book the other day where one of the characters reflected on how the seasons reflected her feelings about Easter. At camp last summer you would have heard about how God sent his Son to earth, to take on the sins of everyone in the entire world. He died as punishment for all our sins, but after being dead for 3 days, Jesus Christ conquered death, was seen alive by His friends and many others, and now He offers us all complete forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven with Him, if only we accept it. Well this character in the book compared Jesus Christ’s death to the dead of winter, when most of the plants die, and everything is covered in snow and the ground is cold. Then the character felt that spring represented Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. Suddenly there’s colour in the world, and life. Baby animals are being born and flowers are blooming. For me, it painted such a wonderful picture: Easter being celebrated just as new life is entering the world! I hope that you were able to take some time to think beyond those chocolate eggs in the foil wrappers and really spend time thanking God for the new life that He has offered us through the death and resurrection of His Son!
“Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God. God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the One who raised Christ from the dead, and he will give life through his Spirit that lives in you.” Romans 8:10-11